


we're gonna make the best of it

by genresavvy



Category: World War Z (2013)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 15:33:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1121535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genresavvy/pseuds/genresavvy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a series of 50 short drabbles about gerry and karin</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Karin notices him the first day of TA-ing the class, but anyone would have. There isn't a dress code for the class or anything, but it's a pretty well-known fact that Professor Lawsen is as smart as he is condescending and judgmental.

Also that he has expressed his opinion that the college should have a dress code on more than one occasion.

Needless to say, because of that, the student's red leather jacket, band t-shirt and jeans make him stick out like a sore thumb from the rest, who are all wearing some form of khaki. At least he seems aware of the fact, as she sees him glance around with steadily growing discomfort on his face.

Honestly, she feels bad for him, but it's not the first time it's happened. Journalist majors keep signing up for his class by accident, not realizing that while it's the same class, the focus isn't on journalism, making it not exactly the course that they signed up for.

Karin turns her attention back to the notes Professor Lawsen gave her to prepare for TA-ing (she's read them about twenty times but she's still afraid that she might have missed or forgotten something) and makes a mental note to keep an eye on that one student just in case he never finds out why the class isn't what he thought it was going to be.


	2. Chapter 2

He pitched the idea to Karin first, of course, because after the times they have been unable to contact each other, he's learned that the ability to easily communicate to your loved ones is something easily taken for granted.

"It won't be like my last job." Gerry stated, "I'll be interviewing people like us, people like Segen about what happened where they were, how they survived. We've found a camoflauge, but with this we might because to figure out where the outbreak started. At the very least, it'll help there be a record of sorts of what happened."

She smiled a little at him, "What? Not You afraid you're not going to be in enough history books?"

He laughed a little, rolling his eyes, "I think if that was my reason, Karin, I would written that tell-all book people were expecting in 2010, and been in at least one documentary."

"Not to mention the obligatory based-on-a-true-story movie about it."

"Of course." He paused, "Anyways, the point is that I'll be safe. This isn't me investigating war crimes, it's me interviewing people about their lives. In fact, I'm pretty sure Segen's going to be on security for it."

Nodding, she rested her head on his shoulder, "I just want you to be safe."

"I know." He put an arm around her shoulders, "Believe me, I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Dinner at the local chinese restaurant becomes a weekly thing for them pretty fast, partly because they both love the food there, and partly because the cost fits their poor college student budgets. Also Professor Lawsen would never be caught dead in it, so they wouldn't have to worry about having to explain why his TA was out having dinner with one of his students.

Again.

It didn't take too long for them to establish a routine, and a meal that they consistently get, simply because they typically would go out on Fridays, and that was when they both were very tired and far less open to trying something new on the menu.

"So, when are you gonna tell your friends about us?" Karin asked idly as she picked up her fork, again giving up on attempting to learn how to use the chop sticks.

"Soon." Gerry replied, dodging the chop stick she threw at him, "I mean, they already have it figured out that I'm seeing someone, so I'm pretty sure that they're waiting to see how long I'm going to wait before I tell them."

"You planning on waiting for long?"

"Nah, just not looking forward to how much they're going to make fun of me when I tell them I'm involved with my TA."

Her laugh was sudden and loud, drawing the attention of the other people there, and she quickly covered her mouth. He waited as she tried to stop laughing, breaking into giggles two or three times before she could finally talk normally, "Oh my god, Gerry. 'Involved'? You're making it sound like I'm a crime syndicate or something."

He rolled his eyes, but he also laughed, "Well, maybe you are. I could totally see you as a mob boss." Pausing, he added, "The best one, of course."

"Of course. And you would be my unwitting boyfriend, pulled into a life of crime."

"Ah, but it would be worth it for you." He leaned in, too, grinning.

Karin rolled her eyes, "That was far too cheesy, Mr. Lane."

"But it still worked."

"True." She replied before kissing him.


	4. Chapter 4

The uncertainty, the anxiety, the waiting -- the whole situation is all too familiar. It's all the worst aspects of Gerry's job, with the added weight of humanity's survival and, if that wasn't enough, zombies.

Karin can't help but to bitterly remember the day she woke up to Gerry lying beside her in bed, the day when it truly sunk in that he was home, that all the waiting and worrying and not being able to get in contact with him was over. She had been so certain that from that day on, their lives would be about moving past the problems and anxieties his job had caused, that he would find a new job as a reporter or a writer, or maybe just be a stay-at-home dad, and life would start being a lot more normal.

They'd had it. They'd found that sense of normalcy, that day-to-day routine which was wonderfully average and boring and routine. She had worried for a while that he would eventually get bored, since he had worked in such dangerous and exciting places for so long, but when she brought it up he shook his head, assured her that he'd had enough danger and excitement to last a lifetime.

She'd really thought that she'd never be in this position again, that all times she'd ever end up waiting for a phone call to find out whether or not he's okay were in the past, here she was again, waiting and hoping and praying that the last time they talked wouldn't be the last time ever.

It's easy to get caught up in the worry, to focus on the pain and worry, but being in the situation before had taught her how to deal with it, the complex balance of not lying to them but at the same time not making her worry and anxiety so obvious that they feel unsafe and panic. She's the adult, the parent, after all, it's up to her to make sure that they feel safe.

(When they are loaded onto a helicopter to be taken to a refugee camp all she can think about is how the last thing she said to him was 'I love you', and yet she still has regrets.)


	5. Chapter 5

"Do you. . .regret leaving your job?"

The question comes one night four or five months after Gerry quit his job at the UN. Rachel and Connie went to bed hours before, and he and Karin had spent the past hour or so half-watching three different movies, switching channels with each commercial break. He'd noticed her glancing over in his direction everyone once in a while, looking nervous, but he didn't know why.

He quickly muted the tv, turning to look at her because he'd known this question was coming for month, because it had been present for so long, on the edge of conversations and talks they had. It was important for him to make his answer clear.

"No. Honestly, I haven't regretted it at all."

Karin nodded, biting her lip "It's just. . .I know that quitting your job wasn't easy, and the fact that you went from a job which was really active and where you did a lot to being a stay-at-home dad can't have been an easy transition. It. . .it must get boring."

Gerry leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "It doesn't. And it won't, I can promise you that."

She studied his face for a moment before smiling, "I know. I just. . .needed to hear you say it." leaning against him, she grabbed the remote, and turned the tv's sound back on, "So, who do you think did it?"

"The butler."

"Gerry, there isn't a butler."

"Damn, there goes my top suspect."


	6. Chapter 6

After a year or so of putting off the vacation plans they'd saved up for, waiting for her vacation time and his time at home to line up, the time finally came. They hired the babysitter, bought the plane tickets, and were ready for the weekend away, just the two of them.

Then it started to snow.

"Of course we get trapped in the airport when I finally get vacation time." Gerry sighs, setting his carry-on bag on the ground as he sits next to Karin on one of the benches in the airport.

She leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder and taking one of his hands in hers, “It could be worse.”

He pauses, studying her for a moment, and despite the circumstances, he can’t help but to smile, “True.”


	7. Chapter 7

Gerry’s an employee of the UN, so, really, a kidnapping should’ve been somewhat expected.

He just didn’t expect to get grabbed while he was with his family — the few times he allowed himself to think about possibly being kidnapped, he saw himself on the job, out in a third world country, not walking down the street with his wife and daughter back home.

"You need to run." He tells Karin, smoothing her hair before he kisses her, allowing himself to linger for a few moments, and continues before she can protest, "They’re going to try and use me as leverage, and they’re going to manipulate everything I say. Don’t trust me, trust what you know is right, and don’t ever give into them, no matter what they threaten."

For a moment, she looks like she’s going to protest, but then she takes a deep breath, and nods, and he’s never been more thankful for how much Karin understands him and his job.


End file.
